Education and the Media

Education and schools are always in the media. Articles can be positive, such as community service activities. Sometimes they are unbiased, such as sports reports. Most of the time, they are quite negative. Teachers being forced to take administrative leave for various reasons, students getting suspended, or even expelled, for fighting, and one of the biggest is funding for education. The focus should be shifted to the positive because the negative things do not happen as much as the media proposes.
When the story is positive, it does not stay on the front page for long or a long clip on the news in the evening. Students have organizations like National Honor Society, CACY, and others that do not get the coverage they deserve for the good works they do. Most of the time, if at all, when the story is in the news it is only a short 30 second clip or on page 5C of the newspaper.
When the story is negative, it is front page and interviews are conducted. Stories of fights are in the news and students get suspended. A teacher says something inappropriate and it is on the front page of the newspaper for the entire week to follow the story. Recently, in Mansfield City Schools, a teacher was put on administrative leave for inappropriate comments to students. The story began with the story, but it then went into detail of her teaching style and classroom management. Recently, in the same school district, a story of a fight is now being followed. There was even video and it was posted on the newspaper’s website.
In order for schools to be more positive and successful places, students need to see the good things occurring in schools on a regular basis. This could be volunteering, school plays, or even success by students in other areas. Sports are an important extracurricular activity for some students, and it is usually reported fairly. Other things could be reported as well that reflect well on teachers and the school district. Students participate in music programs as well as other clubs and organizations. National Honor Society works repeatedly with places to volunteer and organize donations. These are the things that should be focused on, not only the negative. Negative things can be covered in the news, but they should not be the priority when it comes to student success and producing quality citizens for the future.